And He Shall Reign

 

And He Shall Reign

“He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

—Isaiah 9:7

The Prophet’s word promised a King of kings and a Lord of lords—forever! We sing about it, we say we believe it, and yet, we find it oh so hard to live in the truth of it!

All of us are born with the compunction to create our own mini-kingdoms—places where we have control of our comforts, conveniences, desires, happiness, schedules, career paths, and more. Just notice how you respond the next time you have to wait in a line of Christmas shoppers!

Psalm 99:1 reminds us of God’s place:

The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake.

Jesus often spoke of His kingdom, and set patterns for life in that kingdom, that turned on its head the methodologies of the natural world and our natural inclinations controlled by our sinful bent.

Here’s how Paul Tripp explains it:

Jesus had to rescue us from our bondage to our little kingdoms of one and usher us into his kingdom of loving authority and forgiving grace. He came to destroy our self-oriented kingdoms and dethrone us as kings over our own lives. In violent grace he works to destroy every last shred of our allegiance to self-rule, and in rescuing grace he lovingly sets up his righteous rule in our hearts. In grace he patiently works with us until we finally understand that truly good rule in our lives is his rule.¹

I return to Psalm 99:5:

Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy.

Here we see our place. In modern jargon, “He’s God and I’m not.” Or, in the words of the Lord’s Prayer, “Your kingdom come, your will be done.” (Matthew 6:10)

This season, as you hear the beautiful text of Handel’s Messiah, allow it to remind you of His place and ours. Submit to Him again as the King of kings and Lord of lords over all of your life, and bow at His footstool in worship.

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1 Tripp, Paul David. Come, Let Us Adore Him: A Daily Advent Devotional. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017. p. 56.

—Posted: Monday, December 18, 2017